The Coalition and Opposition reshuffled their ministerial and shadow teams yesterday. Defra ministers David Heath and Richard Benyon return to the backbenches; Dan Rogerson and George Eustice arrive as their successors. Mary Creagh leaves her role shadowing Owen Paterson as she moves to Transport. Maria Eagle is the new Labour lead on the environment.
I have three thoughts on the reshuffle.
1. To those that are moving to new portfolios - remember the brief you left behind
Mary Creagh seemed to enjoy her time challenging Caroline Spelman on forestry and Owen Paterson on badgers, horse-meat and ash die-back. She now needs to apply her environmental credentials to transport policy and infrastructure. Yesterday's statement from the Howard Davies review of aviation was a timely reminder that we need to reconcile infrastructure demands with both protection of the natural world and commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The recommendation that new capacity will be required in the South East will do little to allay local people's fears about the prospect of an airport in the Thames Estuary (or expansion of existing sites like Heathrow).
2. To the new ministers in Defra, remember your A, B, C...
A: you and your department have responsibility for helping people and wildlife adapt to climate change. Ask for an early draft of the forthcoming IPCC report on the impacts of climate change. The implications for the future of farming, water management, coastal defences and, of course, the natural world are likely to be severe - but you can make a difference by ensuring we have the capacity and capability to adapt. On land, that means we need our protected areas to be bigger, better and more joined up. At sea, well, simply getting the protected area network in place would be a start!
B: people love biodiversity, so take care when interrogating the evidence around bees, badgers, buzzards etc. Get it right and there are millions of people who will be grateful, get it wrong and there can be a sting in the tail....
C: CAP is the biggest game in the Defra town, you're joining the department as it consults on how to spend over £2 billion of taxpayers money annually. Get it right and your legacy will be the renaissance of farmland wildlife, get it wrong... no I am not contemplating that one.
3. To those that are leaving their posts, I hope that you have fond memories of your time in Defra
My guess is that it has not been an easy time to be a minister in Defra - there's little money to go around, environmental protection regulation has been subjected to the red tape challenge and there have been endless debates about institutional reform. But what a privilege to play your part in the laudable endeavour to be the first generation to pass on the natural environment in a better state to the next.
David Heath's time in Defra was short, yet he proved himself a staunch defender of Natural England and appeared to have high ambitions for CAP reform.
Richard Benyon, however, has been a participant in the environmental debate for the past five years, first as an opposition spokesperson and then as Biodiversity Minister. While we did not always see eye to eye over contentious issues such as cormorant licensing or buzzard control, he demonstrated a genuine passion for wildlife and the countryside. On land, part of his legacy will be Nature Improvement Areas - a new approach to restoring wildlife at a landscape-scale that should provide the greenprint for underpinning nature's recovery. At sea, he will be disappointed that he was unable to finish the job in securing protection of marine wildlife through establishing a network of Marine Conservation Zones.
Yet, it is likely that his Defra ministerial career will be best remembered for the role he played in reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. When David Cameron toured the West Country for a series of public meetings before he became Prime Minister, a fishing representative requested that, should he get into power, he appoint a fisheries Minister with a reasonable degree of longevity. Who knows whether or not David Cameron remembered this conversation, but in Richard Benyon I think they found their man. Understanding the legal and technical complexities of the fishing industry is a tough and alien brief, but he rose to the challenge and for many involved in fisheries he has been one of the best Ministers in recent times. He took a strong position on CFP reform, pressed hard for the landmark deal that sets a target to halt overfishing and ban discards and has also been a strong advocate of the new EU seabird bycatch plan of action.
One final thing, at the launch of the State of Nature report at the Natural History Museum, Victoria Chester, the CEO of Plantlife, memorably asked Richard Benyon if he would be Han Solo to her Princess Leia. With Victoria soon to be leaving Plantife and Richard returning to the backbenches, I guess we'll never know.
May the force be with them both.
What would your message be to the incoming Defra and shadow environment ministers?
It would be great to hear your views.
My message is simply"we do not expect much from you so we will not be disappointed"
I would have much preferred to see Caroline Spelman brought back to the top "slot" in Defra as I thought she demonstrated a genuine interest and willingness to champion and protect the natural world. I have to say I do not see that same commitment or real interest from the present holder of the top position at Defra nor indeed from his masters Messrs Osborne and Cameron. My message to the incoming Defra and shadow ministers therefore would be, "stand up and champion the natural world when ever the situation arises". Don't be too concerned about "taking on the boss" when the interests of wildlife and the natural world are at stake because right now the state of nature is dire.
Very simple - Forestry - disease and the future of the FC forests - is still a live issue. Noone has supported the Government's proposals - including strong opposition from RSPB, the Woodland trust and Wildlife Link. Why ? Because, quite simply, they were a solution cooked up in Whitehall after dismissing the Independent Panel report almost completely - they had the sectoral fingerprints of Treasury, Cabinet Office and Defra all over them - but somewhere along the line the pain of the sales fiasco seems to have been lost from the political consciousness. What is clearest is, as so often with this Government, no one is really in charge. If they were they would - and I hope new Ministers will - realise the only way out is to try faithfully to deliver the Panel's non-partisan solutions to what should be a resource for wildlife, for people, for our total environment, for the long term.